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Sorry, Honey, I’m Busy Right Now

Keys clicked away as my eyes glued to the screen in front of me, my little girl playing near my feet. Before I knew it an hour had gone by, and my husband was walking in the room asking what was keeping me so busy. Without blinking, I replied with a calm, “Researching ways to spend time with our daughter.”

Looking back, I laugh at my silliness. Instead of researching ways to spend time with my daughter, I should have been spending time with my daughter. A funny story, tis true, but a lesson which needed to be learned. How often am I putting off spending time with my children, preparing future opportunities, when I should be making the most of time we have now?

Our daughter has grown quite a bit since then, and three siblings have joined the fun. This lesson remains true, no matter their age or numbers. I need to be purposeful with the time we have, choosing the put off what could be done later for the sake of the best which stands before me.

As homeschoolers, we tend to count our learning time as quality time spent together. And this could be true. A great deal of our day is spent enjoying each other, learning together, and building relationships. Other times, our learning is book work, research, and general busyness. Busyness with a purpose, granted, but not what one could term quality family time.

Once our dedicated ‘learning time’ is done, am I quick to write off my children, and return to the general busyness of life? I hope this is not so. While I might have a myriad of responsibilities waiting for me, I want my children to know they will always come first. Whether they wish a coloring partner, someone to watch them ride bikes, to bake a cake, or just share a story they finished reading, I want to choose the best use of my time. My best should start with family.

There will be time set aside for research. Moments are purposefully chosen for writing. I have outside responsibilities needing attention. And, I too, need breaks to simply breathe and refresh the soul. But, my family needs to know they come first. My family needs to know I am never too busy to meet their needs, or merely enjoy their company.

“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”
Ephesians 5:15-17

Chime In!: I often spend a little time each night looking for fun activities, field trips, and games we could enjoy as a family. How do you find fun family activities?

Great questions! We spend an average of four to five hours a day doing “dedicated school activities”. (It really all depends on the children’s focus that day, and the particular activities we’ve chosen to implement.) However, I am the first to admit learning takes place all day long.

Just last night we were reading a book on a famous chocolate company (for fun), looking at recipes. This launched an in-depth conversation on Free Trade, organic chocolate and the importance of each.

“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”
Ephesians 5:15-17

We’ve been trying lately as a family to have less “screen time” when my husband comes home from work in the evenings because we have so little time together each day. We’ve been playing more board games and card games, playing ping-pong on the dinner table, and occasionally doing a few chores together before bedtime (that’s my favorite one! lol).

This is me to a tee! I guess I second guess and live in fear of inadequacy. I am always so afraid I will not teach something right and everyone else will know. But in the end, it’s not a sprint. It’s a marathon with plenty of sights to see! Thank you for the eye opener. I am not the only one out here preparing my quality time away!

This is a beautiful, thought-filled post. A home school mother and mentor who came years ahead of me with now four grown men said to me once way back when I was starting out that she made sure she spent time outdoors with her boys every single day playing what they wanted to play.

I think most of us homeschool mamas feel what you have felt with the pull of all sides…the education, the time one-on-one, the family time, yet the needed planning time and chores and daily life stuff too.

As my children now enter tween and teen years (and one into the adult years), we are now looking at how to re-vamp family time together to keep unity amongst the diversity. It’s a constant challenge. But yes, let’s “refresh our souls” as you say, and choose family first and learn then how to “look carefully how we walk.”